Despite Warsaw urging stricter sanctions on Moscow, Poland still gets 10 per cent of its oil from Russia

Poland still gets 10 per cent of its oil from Russia despite Warsaw continually urging stricter sanctions on Moscow.

According to a report from Maciej Malecki, one of Poland’s deputy ministers for state assets today, Thursday, February 9, Poland is still buying ten per cent of its oil supplies from Russia. This comes despite continued calls by Warsaw for stricter sanctions on Moscow.

The EU’s latest embargo on Russian oil products came into force last Sunday 5. Member states are no longer permitted to import petrol, diesel, or jet fuel supplies from Russia. Two months ago, a ban on seaborne oil deliveries was already implemented in the bloc.

Addressing the Polish parliament, Malecki revealed that the government still has a binding contract with Tatneft in Russia. The deal does not expire until the end of 2024 added the deputy minister, pointing out that it accounts for ‘around 10 per cent of the needs of Polish oil firm Orlen’.

Last year, Poland insisted that it had a ‘radical plan’ that by the end of 2022 would see the country terminating all of its oil imports from Russia, as reported by insiderpaper.com.

With the Tatneft contract still valid, it means that around 200,000 tonnes of oil are being bought monthly by Warsaw. Orlen is a state-run company, which: ‘strongly declared that it would stop buying Russian oil as soon as an EU embargo is introduced’, Malecki told parliament.

The deputy minister further explained that under the terms of their contract, Warsaw would be forced to pay a large sum of compensation to Tatneft should they terminate the deal prematurely. Malecki made a point of stressing that the energy deal with Tatneft was the only one that ties Poland to Moscow.

___________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do remember to come back and check The Euro Weekly News website for all your up-to-date local and international news stories and remember, you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram.